MAIKON DI DOMENICO.pdf - Universidade Federal do Paraná

Abstract
We summarize herein the current knowledge on the taxonomy, evolution and
distribution ecology of interstitial annelids from southern and southeastern
Brazilian beaches. The chapter 1 is a taxonomic survey of the interstitial
polychaete species from the southeastern and southern Brazilian coasts,
describing new taxa and revising previously known species. The following
families were included: Aeolosomatidae and Potamodrilidae, Ctenodrilidae,
Nerillidae, Polygordiidae, Protodrilidae, Protodriloididae and Saccocirridae.
We also present a critical review of the Aberrantidae, Parergodrilidae and
Psammodrilidae, though they have not been reported from the Brazilian coast
as yet. The chapter 2 was used a molecular phylogenetic hypothesis, with
ribosomal DNA (28S, 18S and H3) and a mitochondrial marker (16S), by
means of maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, to access the
following aims: a) to test adequacy of the current taxonomic classification
schemes for the Saccocirridae; b) to trace the evolution of the main diagnostic
traits and c) to evaluate the correlations between habitat conditions and the
proposed trophic guilds. The chapter 3 aimed to test the adequacy of the
current taxonomic classification schemes for Protodrilus on the basis of a
molecular phylogenetic hypothesis, with ribosomal DNA (28S, 18S and H3)
and a mitochondrial marker (16S), by means of maximum likelihood (ML) and
Bayesian (BI) approaches. Protodrilus spp. (Protodrilidae), Protodriloides
spp. (Protodriloididae), Saccocirrus sp. nov. 1 (Saccocirridae) and
Polygordius eschaturus (Polygordiidae) were used in the chapter 4 as models
to test the hypothesis that different strategies of locomotion and feeding
patterns affect habitat preference at different spatial scales. The role played
by AGS and SKW in explaining and predicting the distribution of interstitial
annelids strongly suggest that both factors may have been determinant of the
evolutionary processes which led to the origin and dispersion of this and other
meiofaunal groups.